Israel’s Security Cabinet has approved the construction of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said is intended to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.
With this decision, the total number of settlements approved over the past three years has risen to 69, according to Smotrich, a far-right minister and a long-time advocate of settlement expansion.
UN Warns of Record Settlement Expansion
The decision comes days after the United Nations warned that Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank has reached its highest level since 2017, when the UN began systematically collecting data on the issue.
In an official statement, Israel confirmed that the proposal jointly submitted by Finance Minister Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz to formalize 19 new settlements in Judea and Samaria was approved, without specifying the exact date of the decision.
Statements Fueling Tensions
Smotrich, himself a settler, openly defended the move, stating:
“On the ground, we are preventing the creation of a terrorist Palestinian state.”
He added that Israel would continue to develop, build, and settle what he described as “the land of our ancestors.”
International Condemnation
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly criticized what he described as Israel’s “relentless” settlement expansion, warning that it:
- Inflames tensions
- Restricts Palestinian access to their land
- Threatens the viability of a fully independent, democratic, contiguous, and sovereign Palestinian state
The UN has reiterated that all Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory are considered illegal under international law.
Demographics and Strategic Locations
Excluding East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied and annexed in 1967, more than 500,000 Israelis currently live in the West Bank, alongside nearly 3 million Palestinians.
According to Smotrich’s office:
- The 19 newly approved settlements are located in “highly strategic” areas
- Two settlements—Ganim and Kadim in northern West Bank—will be re-established, after being dismantled roughly two decades ago
- Five of the settlements already exist but lacked formal legal status under Israeli law until now
While some settlement outposts are illegal even under Israeli law, many are later legalized, raising concerns over potential annexation.
US Warning on Annexation
US President Donald Trump has warned Israel against formally annexing the West Bank, stating that:
“Israel would lose all support from the United States if this happens.”
Trump made the remarks in a recent interview with Time magazine.
Rising Violence Since Gaza War
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and violence in the territory has sharply increased since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, following an attack by Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
